Tips for Clients

As an addendum to the post I recently wrote, entitled “Client Interviewing Tips”, I would like to share a story which exemplifies my point precisely. A candidate just called me, after having interviewed with a great advertising agency. He is a favorite candidate of mine—great skillset and personality, a total package one might say. He relayed his feedback of the interview delicately but was also quite honest.

Apparently the client (s) who interviewed him gave a such a “sad” vibe, that he had to ask if something terrible had happened to them that day. He was told that his demeanor had to be high energy because everyone at the agency “had such low energy” (this is obviously not an attractive attribute of a work environment!). The client actually asked if the candidate could come back for a “redo” as the interview had gone so terribly. The candidate actually felt like the client was trying to dissuade him from working there.

In this case, the candidate  chose to not go back to the agency a second time—which is a shame as he was such a wonderful candidate and potentially a great match for the company.

LESSON: While a client shouldn’t tap dance in an effort to fool a candidate about true agency life, they should be  careful of turning a candidate off in the first meeting by being too transparent and not making an effort to be positive and encouraging. And even if they didn’t like the candidate, remember, that this is a PR exercise, and you don’t want to negative things being said about the company in the future by this individual.

Jodi Shapiro – Senior Consultant

Does a company needs to make a great first impression on a candidate during the interview process? Of course!

While it is critical for a candidate to make a great first impression on a client during the interview process, it is also extremely important for a client (and in this case client means anyone at the company who will be interviewing a candidate) to make a great first impression on the candidate. It works both ways. All of us tend to place more emphasis on the former, and this is a mistake, as  a negative client representative can turn a promising candidate off entirely.

If you are a company seeking new hires, you should heed these words! Perhaps you have had a terribly busy and stressful day. Maybe you just received a call that your water heater broke or, even worse, you didn’t get that dinner reservation at Perse. Regardless of the reason for your unpleasant mood, you MUST put your best foot forward when meeting a candidate. You should be very friendly, positive, and informative—positioning the company in the best light possible so it is appealing to any candidate who walks into your office for an interview. The best interviews end with a candidate who really wants to work for the company—and this is often based upon the vibe that he or she feels during the first interview.

LESSON: Interviewing is really a two way street, and a client needs to make an effort to leave a great and lasting impression on a candidate during this process.

Jodi Shapiro – Senior Consultant